In the Storm

In our lives we are going to face stormy times.  There will be struggles.  We will feel and be weak.  No one is immune to this.  During those times when things are so hard, we will question why.  We will not be at our best.  I think that those times are when we need to be sure of the people we allow close to us.  I believe this because I believe that we are shaped and formed in the storms.
When I am walking, (or crawling) through a stormy period in my life, I would rather have one person sitting with me quietly than have many people with me speaking a thousand useless words.  The silent strength of one person, just being with me, offers more hope than anything 10 others could say.
I have days where it seems that everything I touch just falls apart.  I know we all can relate.  Having a day that would just be described as a bad day.
But man, when those types of days string together...
and no matter how hard we try, nothing gets better...
Then, we are in a storm.  We are battered by so many different emotions and events, none of them pleasant.  In the midst of it all, it can be impossible to see the end.  The storms of life are never as short as we would like for them to be either!  During those times, I do hear the encouraging words from others - Mostly, I cannot embrace them, not while in the storm.  If I allow someone near me then, it is simply their presence that means all the world to me.  I am not listening to their words, not in any real sense.  I am drawing from their offered strength.  Resting from the battle in the storm, if only for a few minutes.